Never Knew What I Was Missing
by DancerGirl136
Summary: I think I've found you a new duo partner." "Who?" Gabriella asked in confusion. Gabriella is a great dancer, with amazing technique and passion. When new boy Troy Bolton moves to town, she doesn't realise what big part of her life he will be. DISCONTINUED
1. Chapter 1

**Hey to anyone reading this. I am new to FanFiction, so please bare with me as I try to figure things out. **

**This story was inspired by my love of dancing and High School Musical. I really hope you enjoy it. Please leave reviews with any ideas or constructive critisicm. Thanks!**

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"See ya later Mum." Gabriella waved as she hopped out of the car and walked into the Albuquerque Academy of Performing Arts. She smiled as she walked into the studio. It was practically her home. She loved everything about it; the pictures on the walls, the people, and the energy the place had.

She had been dancing since she was four. She still remembered her first dance class.

"_Mummy, come on, let's go!" Four year old Gabriella whined. _

_Maria laughed as her daughter tugged on her hand impatiently. "Okay Gabi, hold on. We have to wait for Daddy."_

"_But I want to start dancing."_

_Maria rolled her eyes and called up the stairs to her husband. "Max, if you don't get down here immediately, your daughter is going to combust."_

"_Hurry up Daddy! I have to go to dancing!"_

_Max hurried down the stairs. "Sorry, I was on the phone with the office." He explained to his wife. He knelt down and scooped his daughter up into his arms. "Ready to go princess?"_

_She looked at him. "I've been ready for aaaages!" she said in a know-it-all fashion._

_Max laughed. "Alright, let's go then."_

_The family passed through the white doors of the dance studio. _

"_Here you go princess, this is your dance school." Max said. He placed Gabriella down on the ground._

_She walked around the place, looking at the bright pictures on the wall. She looked at a picture of a girl holding her leg high in a mount. She pointed at it. "I wanna learn to do that."_

_Her parents laughed, along with the dance teacher who had come out. _

"_I can see someone's eager," the lady said. She turned to Max and Maria. "I'm Miss Felicity. I'm the principal here."_

_Max and Maria shook her hand. "It's lovely to meet you. Gabriella's been busting all day to come. Gabi, come say hi to your teacher."_

_Gabi, suddenly shy, walked over and smiled at Miss Felicity. "Hi." She said softly._

_Miss Felicity smiled. "Hi Gabi. You look very pretty in your pink leotard."_

_Gabi looked down at it. "Thank you."_

"_Are you ready to dance?" Miss Felicity asked._

_Gabi nodded. "I wanna be the best dancer ever." She announced._

"_Well, maybe you will be someday."_

_And with that Gabi followed Felicity into the studio along with the other little girls._

Gabi smiled fondly, thinking of that day. She was still as in love with dancing as she had been as a four year old. She was now sixteen. Over the years she had taken many classes in ballet, tap, jazz, modern lyrical, hip hop, acro and tumbling, and singing. She had done solo, duos, trios, and been a part of competition troupes.

She pulled her jazz shoes out of her locker and put them on, slowly warming her body up. Miss Felicity walked into the room.

"Oh, Gabi, you're here. I wanted to talk to you."

"What about?" she asked curiously.

"I think I've found you a duo partner."

Gabi had wanted a duo partner for about a year now. Her previous partner, Sophie, had moved to New Jersey, and there had been no one her age suitable to fill the spot.

"Who?" Gabi asked in confusion.

"There's a new boy here, Troy Bolton. He just moved from California. He inquired about the school a few weeks ago, but I didn't think anything of it until the other night. I think it would be good for you to have a male partner, especially since you're with other girls for all your trios. He really good Gabi, I think you two would make a good match."

"Okay. When can I meet him?" she asked.

"He's coming in soon, in about half an hour. I met him last weekend, but he's officially starting tonight. I thought it would be good for the two of you to meet before your classes, see if you have chemistry."

Gabriella thought about it for a minute. "Okay. Bring him in when he gets here."

Felicity grinned. "Great. I'll be back soon."

Gabi turned to the barre and started to do some plies, wondering about this Troy guy. _Hopefully he's as good as he sounds_ she thought.

Twenty minutes later, Gabi was in the middle of rehearsing her solo jazz dance. She struck her final pose, panting heavily. She then moved to get a drink, just as Felicity came in with who she presumed to be Troy.

"Gabi, I'd like you to meet Troy." Felicity introduced. "Troy, this is Gabriella."

"Hi," he said, smiling at her.

Gabi stared at him for a moment. He was gorgeous. Floppy brown hair, muscular arms and the most amazing blue eyes she had ever seen. And his smile was dazzling, practically knocking the wind out of her. Or maybe that was the dancing.

"Hi," she said, finally responding. She smiled back at him, reaching out to shake his hand. Man, she hoped so badly he wasn't gay.

"That was a great dance you just did." He commented.

"Thanks." She smiled.

"Troy trained at the Los Angeles School of Dance before he came here." Felicity said.

"Wow, that's an impressive school," Gabriella noted.

Troy nodded his head bashfully.

"And he won second place at the National Starpower Competition last year." Felicity added.

"Wow." Gabriella said again. She really didn't know what else to say. He sounded too good to be true.

"Well Troy, how about you should Gabi what you can do?"

Troy nodded and handed her his iPod. She plugged in it and pressed play.

Music blasted through the room. Troy started to dance, a jazz piece that showed off his technique but still managed to make him look manly. Gabriella stared at him, her mouth slightly open. He was awesome.

The music finished and Troy came to stop, looking at Gabriella for her reaction.

"That was so good." She said to him. "Like, really good."

He chuckled. "Thanks."

"So what do you think Gabi?" Felicity piped up. "Do you reckon he's worth a chance?"

"I think so." She grinned.

"Okay, great. We'll try something tomorrow night at 5. Is that okay with you both?"

They both nodded.

"Great. You can both hang in here until class starts."

Felicity left the room, leaving the two of them alone for the first time.

They stared at each other for a moment before Troy spoke up.

"So, how long have you been dancing?" he asked.

"Since I was four." She replied. "I walked through those doors and told Felicity I wanted to be the greatest dancer. I've been here the whole time. What about you?"

"I started when I was thirteen."

Her mouth dropped. "Seriously? Three years and you are that good? How did you get into it?"

"I actually kinda fell into it." He admitted. "I was really heavily into basketball, but we had to do a dance unit in Gym. I was the only guy in my class who didn't totally suck. The instructor told me I could come to a class to try it out. I have no idea why I went, but it's like something was telling me to. I did a jazz and hip hop class at first, then it expanded into ballet and lyrical over the next few months. I just kept going because I loved it so much. Then I wanted to get really good, so I practiced like crazy for months until my teacher told me I could enter a competition. I was so happy."

"Wow, your story totally tops mine." Gabi laughed. "Did you get heaps of crap at school for wanting to dance?"

"Yeah, at first. Especially since I was captain of the basketball team. Everyone though I'd gone crazy, so did my Dad. But I showed them I can do both, and I don't care what others say. Plus," he added with a wicked grin, "I get to be one of the only few guys in a room full of gorgeous and talented girls. What's better than that?"

Gabi laughed at that. "Fair enough." She agreed. "And it's good you're here. We're a little short on guys lately. A few of them moved, and we need more for troupe dances."

"Think I'll be suitable?" he grinned, raising his eyebrows.

She grinned back at him. "I think you just might be."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys. Oh my gosh I am so amazed at how many people made this story a favourite or reviewed my two one shots I posted. If you haven't read them, give them a go.**

**Here is the next chapter for you. It was pretty fats since a fair amount of people responded to the first one, but updates will not always be so frequent. Especially since I haven't written the next chapter haha. I have it all planned, just need to write it. Also I have exams coming up soon so I won't have so much free time. Thanks for reading and constructive criticism is welcome. Hope you enjoy! **

**Disclaimer: I wish I owned High School Musical, but sadly I do not.**

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Gabriella sighed as she walked into her room, dropping her dance bag on the chair. Her room was another display of her passion for dancing. When she was four, her dad had put up ballerina wallpaper for her. Upon turning thirteen, she had painted over it, but dance items still filled the room. Her very first pair of pointe shoes hung from a hook in the wall, a dance calendar was placed above her desk, the word DANCE had been painted on her wall in a curly script. A massive corkboard on her wall had pictures of her with friends. Some of them were her school friends, but most were her and her dance friends over the years from practices and competitions.

Thinking of dancing made her think of classes that night, and of Troy. She smiled just thinking about him. They had gotten to know each other better over the course of the night. They had talked in between classes and in breaks, about anything they came to mind. They discussed their families, favourite foods, tv shows, music, everything. She had also learnt a few other things, like how strong he was. He had lifted her at one point, and the shivers that ran down her body when he did had excited her. She couldn't wipe the grin off her face, even though she didn't want him to see it just from being near him.

_You've got to chill_ she told herself. If he was to become her duo partner, she couldn't be fawning all over him. She'd embarrass herself and not be taking her dance seriously. _So put all thoughts of him out of your head that are not in the dance context._

Troy sighed as he lay in bed. A million thoughts were running through his head. School, dancing and Gabriella.

Gabriella. Her name was sweet, just like her. And she was so gorgeous. He'd learnt a lot about her over the night, and not just things she'd told him. He'd noticed the way she twisted a piece of hair that had fallen from her bun while she was thinking. Or the way her nose scrunched up when she laughed really hard. Her eyes, as brown as chocolate, had stared straight into his as she had told him all about East High, the school he would be attending as of tomorrow.

He really hoped they worked out as dancing partners. Then they would get to spend heaps of time together. He rolled over on his side and closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep before tomorrow.

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Gabriella groaned and rolled over to slap the alarm clock and stop it's incessant beeping. Her eyes flickered open to read the time. 6:45. She had to get up now, or she wouldn't be ready it time.

Climbing out of bed, she walked to her bathroom to get ready. Fifteen minutes later she emerged, wearing a pair of pink skinny jeans and a white t-shirt with her white Converse shoes and a silver heart necklace. Grabbing her bag from her desk, she headed down the stairs.

As she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard raised voices coming from the kitchen. Pausing to listen, she realised it was her parents arguing. Again. She sighed heavily, remembering they seemed to be having a lot of fights lately.

Clearing her throat as she walked into the kitchen to alert them of her presence, she walked over to the fridge for some water. Her parents fell silent, her mother finishing the breakfast and her father busying himself with his briefcase. An awkward silence fell over the three for a few minutes, until Max picked up his case and his jacket. He dropped a kiss to Gabi's head with a, "Bye Princess. Have a good day." He left without farewelling his wife.

Maria rolled her eyes and started packing Gabi's lunch. Gabi stared down at her toast, eating quickly. As soon as she was done she stood up and grabbed her bag. "I have to be going Mum. Love you." She kissed her mother's cheek and hurried outside, where her best friend Sharpay was waiting to give her a lift.

"Hey Shar!" she said, climbing into the Evan's Audi.

"Hey babe." Sharpay said, leaning over to give her a hug. "Were you a crazy dancing girl for all hours last night?"

Gabi grinned. "Yes, as usual." Suddenly, Troy entered her head. "Oh! Big news on that!"

"What? What?" Sharpay asked, dropping her tube of lip gloss.

"I found a duo partner, and it's a guy. A really hot guy." She said triumphantly.

"No way!" Sharpay exclaimed. "Where's he from?"

"He just moved here from California," Gabi explained, "And he's coming to school today. And he is so gorgeous, you will believe when you see him."

"Okay, honey, are you sure he's not gay?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, just checking. Cos I don't want you to go through what happened with me and Tom." Sharpay had had a massive crush on an older guy from her drama class. She spent a whole eight months obsessing over him before finding out he was gay.

"Don't worry. He also plays basketball, he kinda fell into dancing three years ago, he has muscles like you wouldn't believe and he said he gets to hang around hot, talented girls through dancing."

"Okay, not gay."

"Yeah. I'm going to try find him when we get there. He won't know anybody else."

"Aww, how sweet." Sharpay laughed. "Get him while you can, before girls at school fawn all over him."

Gabi rolled her eyes, but knew it was true. Troy was sexy as, and girls would surely be attacking him from every direction.

Gabi was standing at her locker, which conveniently happened to be a little down the hall from the front office. She looked over her shoulder again, checking for Troy. She still hadn't seen him.

She looked the other way, and about six lockers down, was Troy unloading books into a locker. Gabi picked up her bag and made her way over to him.

"Hey partner," she said, tapping him on the shoulder.

Troy looked up with a grin. "Gabi! Oh, so good to see someone I know."

Gabi smiled back. "Hey, well here I am. Did you need any help finding places?"

"Ah, yeah, actually. Do you know where room 143 is? It says Ms Darbus is the teacher."

Gabriella grimaced. "Do you want the good news, or the bad news?" she asked.

He shrugged.

"Well, good news; you're in my homeroom, and I'll take you there. Bad news, Darbus is the craziest teacher in the whole school."

"Hmm, I'm intrigued." He laughed.

"You won't be for long." She warned him.

Troy turned around to face her, twenty minutes later. "You're right, I'm not intrigued anymore."

Gabi stifled a laugh. "Didn't think so."

Darbus had started in on her cell phone lecture for the week. No one was listening; they either were doing last minute homework, hiding their iPods so they could listen, or passing notes with the person next to them.

The bell rang, signalling the end of the period. Everyone hurried out of the room. Troy and Gabriella walked out together.

"Hey, do you want to sit with us at lunch?" Gabi asked.

"Sure." Troy smiled. "That'd be good."

"Okay, well I'll see you later. I have to go this way." She gestured to the opposite direction Troy was going.

"Okay. See ya." He said.

They stood there awkwardly for a moment, staring at each other, before hurrying away.

Sharpay ran up beside Gabi. "Girl, he is fine! No, he is more than fine!" she exclaimed.

Gabi laughed. "I told you."

"And oh my gosh, those eyes!! I could just get lost in them!" Sharpay waved her hand about her face dramatically. Looking at Gabi, she said, "Though I should be careful what I say about your boyfriend."

"He is not my boyfriend." Gabi protested.

"Not yet." Sharpay concluded.

Lunch time came quickly that day. Gabi and Sharpay were seated at their table with their friends. Gabi had made sure to save a seat for Troy. Her eyes scanned the room, searching for him. She spotted his red jacket from across the room.

"Troy!" she called.

He looked up at the sound of his name and grinned when he saw her. He started making his way over to the table.

Gabi stood up to introduce him to everyone. "Guys, this is Troy. Troy, this is Sharpay, Chad, Taylor, Kelsi, Ryan, Jason and Zeke."

He smiled charmingly at everyone. "Hey."

"Hey." They all chorused back.

Troy sat down and started a conversation about sports with Chad. Gabriella watched for a minute before turning back to her conversation with Sharpay about performance costumes. She smiled. Things were going well.

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That afternoon, Gabi arrived at the studio at 3:45 like normal. She found Troy already there, stretching in the main studio.

"Hey." She called, dropping his bag into her locker and putting her jazz shoes on. She walked over to join him at the barre where he was doing plies and rises to warm up.

"Hi." He smiled at her. She felt her stomach do a little flip just witnessing his smile. _Keep it together Gabi._

"So, how did school go?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was pretty good. Classes are all pretty good, met some nice people. All the guys in your group seem nice."

"Yeah, they are. They're great."

They moved to the floor to stretch some more. Then Felicity walked in.

"Hey guys." She said.

"Hey Felicity." They replied.

"Okay, we're just going to do some lifts and combinations to make sure you work well together. Then you guys can pick a song to do together."

"Yay!" Gabi squealed. "I love picking songs."

Troy laughed. _She is so adorable_ he thought.

Felicity instructed Troy to put his hands on Gabi's waist and hold her steady, while she lifted her right leg and hooked it over his shoulder. This meant they were staring straight into each others eyes.

Gabriella gulped as she stared into those ocean blue eyes. He was so hot! _Keep it together_ she told herself. _Breathe_.

Troy became aware of how sweaty he was as he held her in his arms. _Oh my gosh! Did I remember to put deodorant on?! I don't want her thinking I'm disgusting!!_

After twenty minutes, they had two basic combinations down.

"You guys work great together." Felicity said excitedly. She could see the connection between them. This was going to be a great dance. "Okay, I have an idea. I really like _The Way You Make Me Feel_. I know it's been done so many times before, but I think we can do it in a new way. Plus it will display your chemistry together. What do you think?"

Troy and Gabriella looked at each other before answering. "Sounds great." They agreed.

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At 5:30, Troy and Gabi packed their bags and left the studio. The rehearsal had gone well and they had made some real progress. Gabi walked over and placed her dance bag in the passenger seat of the car. She gathered her curly hair up into a bun and tied it with a hair tie.

"Hey Gabi?" Troy asked.

"Yeah?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"I was wondering if . . . you wanted to hang out tomorrow? We could get to know each other a little better."

She smiled at him. "That sounds good. How about I show you around town?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me. I'll text you when I get home?"

"Yep. See ya tomorrow." Gabi climbed into her car and turned the keys in the ignition. She smiled to herself. _I can't wait for tomorrow._


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys. This chapter was a bit iffy for me. It's kinda a filler until drama starts coming. So those of you wanting it, it is on it's way. Give it one or two more chapters. There are parts of this chapter I like and parts I don't like. Please let me know what you think. And review!!! There are 10 or 15 of you who have subscribed to me or the story, so I would love it if you could all drop me a line saying what you thought. It won't take long! Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own High School Musical or the characters other than the ones I created. **

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Gabi looked at herself in the mirror critically. She had to look right today for her day out with Troy. She was not referring to it as a date, because it wasn't officially one, no matter how many times Sharpay said it was. And today would be one of the only times he had seen her when she wasn't in a leotard and all sweaty from dance. She had chosen a pair of dark wash, skinny jeans with a flowing white top and her brown wedges. After grabbing her bag with her phone, keys, wallet, lip gloss and iPod, she headed off to the mall where she had arranged to meet Troy.

As she approached the food court, she spotted Troy. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw how good he looked. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans with white Vans and a striped blue polo shirt. His hair was hanging over his forehead and he twirled a pair of aviators in his hand.

"Hey." She smiled as she reached him.

"Hey." He replied, leaning over to give her a hug. Gabriella smiled at the close contact with him.

"So," Troy said, looking around at the stores. "Where do we start?"

"Well," Gabriella started to lead him towards the escalators. "I have to pick up something from the dance store, and you may need to know where it is anyway, so I'll show you."

They headed down to Albuquerque Dance Supplies so Gabi could pick up her new stockings. She showed Troy around the store that he would most likely spend a lot of time in. After the dance shop they went to the video store and looked at CDs and DVDs. Gabi then showed Troy around the bowling alley and the movies.

"Hey, is that an arcade?" Troy asked, peering into the room as they passed the cinema.

"Yep." Gabi said. "It's pretty quiet today. That's rare. Do you want to go in?" she asked Troy.

"Only if it won't bore you." Troy said.

"Are you kidding? I love the arcade. My dad used to bring me here when I was little. I don't come that much anymore, but it definitely doesn't bother me." she assured him.

"Great." He grinned, pulling her through the door.

They headed over to the Wack a Skunk game. "Ooh this is my favourite!" Gabi squealed. Troy took out a coin and put it in the machine.

"Troy, you didn't have to do that. I can pay." Gabriella protested.

"Gabi, you're showing me around, means I get to pay." Troy smiled at her. "Okay?"

She rolled her eyes but smiled at him. "Okay." She said reluctantly.

After smashing the skunks with the mallet, they decided to play air hockey.

"Yes! Hahaha!" Gabi cheered as she got the puck past Troy into the goal.

Troy grinned at her as he put the puck back on the table and kept playing. She was so adorable.

Troy ended up winning the game, and Gabi suggested they have a go on the Dance Machine. "Let's see who's really superior in dancing shall we?" she joked.

The started the game and moved according to the lit up arrows on the board. They were jumping and being energetic, trying to outdo each other. Their movements were perfectly in time with each other as if they were performing a rehearsed routine. To anyone watching, it would have been impossible to pick a winner.

The music finished and the pair hit the last pose perfectly, breathing heavily and grinning. The scores began to flash up on the screen, determining the winner. Troy groaned at the score and Gabriella started jumping up and down. "Yes! Yes! I am superior!" she laughed. Troy grinned and shook his head at her. While she was too busy dancing around in happiness, Troy snuck up behind her and grabbed her legs, throwing her over his shoulder. She shrieked in surprise. "Troy! Put me down!"

Troy laughed as he carried her out of the arcade before setting her down. She turned to face him, arranging a pout on her face that Troy found absolutely adorable.

"Aww come on, don't pull that face at me." he begged.

She continued to stare at him, her bottom lip jutted out.

"I'm sorry!" Troy said, running over to hug her. "It was a joke!"

Gabi finally broke her serious face and started laughing as she ran away from Troy. He stared after her in confusion for a minute, before setting off after her.

After he had caught up to her, they decided to look at the rest of the town. The pair walked to the local bakery and bought sausage rolls and slices of cake before heading t the lake.

Troy's jaw dropped when they arrived at the lake. It was a beautiful setting, especially with the weather that day, there being no clouds in the sky and the sun shining down on them happily.

"Come over here, there's a great little spot." Gabriella called, walking towards the lake.

"We're not going to sit **in** the lake are we?" Troy asked.

Gabriella laughed. "No. Trust me."

She led him to a wharf that was hidden behind a group of trees, but it still had a beautiful view. The lake had started to turn into a river as it headed downstream. Everything around them was silent, except for the occasional bird and the rushing of water.

Gabriella settled down on the wharf and turned to look at Troy. "Come here." She said, patting the spot next to her. Troy's insides moved around like jelly at the way she was looking at him. He sat down next to her and opened up his bag from the bakery.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Gabriella spoke. "So, why did you move out here anyway?"

"Well, my dad got a new job as head coach of basketball at the University of Albuquerque. It was a really big deal for him, especially since he lost his old job a year ago. So he and Mum decided to move us out here."

"Is it hard? Like, do you miss all your friends and stuff?" Gabriella asked.

Troy thought about it. "Yeah, it is. I mean, I'd lived there my whole life. I've known my friends there since kindergarten, and I played basketball for a long time, and it's where my first dance school was, so it was hard. But I like it here so far. Everyone's nice, and the Academy here is really great. Miss Felicity is really nice, and I mean, I got a great dance partner." He said, winking at her. She giggled back at him.

"So, what about you?" he asked. "Have you always lived here?"

"Yeah. I was born at Albuquerque Hospital. I went to school at East Albuquerque Elementary, where I met Sharpay, Taylor, Chad, and we've been friends ever since. I've also been to the Academy the whole time."

"And you don't have any siblings?" Troy asked.

"No. I think my mum wanted more kids, but my dad got really busy after I was born. He's very good at his job and he spends a lot of time on it. It's become more important as I've gotten older." Gabriella explained.

"Is that hard?" Troy asked carefully. He didn't want to pry, but he was curious about his new friend's life.

"Hmm, not really. It is sometimes when he's not home, but he's always involved in my dancing. He's not one of those dads who don't involved, and just let the mother do it all. He actually likes to hear about how I went in class that day, or a new step I learnt. He comes to every performance and tapes it for me. I don't know what I'd do if he ever missed one."

"Well, it's nice you're close with him." Troy said. "My dad found the whole dancing thing hard at first, but he's accepted it now. I don't know what I'd do if he didn't."

"Yeah. It would be really hard." Gabriella said thoughtfully.

The two of them finished their lunch in silence, deep in thought.

"Thanks for showing me around today Gabi. I really appreciate it." Troy said as he dropped Gabi back at her house.

"It's no problem. I had a lot of fun. And it was good to hang out, since we'll be spending a lot of time together." She said.

"Yeah." Troy nodded. "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yep." Gabi nodded, giving him a big smile. She leaned over the middle of the car to give him a hug before hopping out and entering her house.

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The next day at school, Gabi headed to the gym during free period. She liked to work on her solo whenever she had a chance, and luckily East High had a small studio located off the side of the gym that hardly anyone ever used.

After grabbing her clothes from her locker and changing in the bathroom, she headed to the studio. As she passed the gym, she could hear boys calling at each other. She peered in to see a bunch of guys from her grade playing a game of basketball. She smiled when she spotted Troy playing, as well as Chad, Zeke and Jason.

She watched Troy as he warmed up, leaning over to stretch his hamstring muscles. It was evident that he was quite flexible, and it didn't go unnoticed by the guys.

"Hey twinkle toes." Some jerk named Garry called out. "Why don't you go practice your ballet or something? This game's for real men."

Troy looked up at Garry in confusion. "No man, I'm here to play ball."

"Are you sure? Or would you rather go wear your tights and prance around somewhere else?"

Troy rolled his eyes. He'd dealt with guys like this before, and it looked like he was going to have to again.

"I said I'm here to play ball. So put your comments away and let's play."

Gabriella was still watching carefully from inside the studio, unknowingly to the group of guys.

"Oh, so you think you're tough, hey ballet boy?" Garry just didn't know when to shut up. "Let's see you prove it."

"Fine." Troy said. "I will prove it. Because, in case you didn't know, dancing helps improve your flexibility, muscle control, balance, coordination, strength, stamina and power. All of which are need to play basketball well. So let's see, shall we?"

The rest of the guys crowded around eagerly. They wanted to see how this was going to play out.

They started the game by jumping for the ball. Troy quickly knocked it over Garry's head to Chad, who ran down the court with it. Troy chased after him, received the ball and shot it into the hoop. The guys cheered as Troy pumped his fist in the air.

"Come on Garry, it's now or never!" he called.

Garry growled and snatched the ball back, throwing it to his team mate. Troy managed to intercept it as the guy tried to throw it back to Garry. Troy passed to Zeke who passed to Chad to score.

"Come on Garry. You gotta get'cha head in the game!" Troy grinned at him, which only succeeded in making him angrier.

Half an hour later, Troy's team was still remarkably ahead. The bell rang to signal the end of free period, bringing the game to a stop. Troy's team won hands-down.

"Hey, good game man." Troy reached his hand out politely to Garry, who ignored it with a smirk and a toss of his head. Troy rolled his eyes and went to collect his gym bag. He then left the gym, not noticing Gabriella still watching from the door of the studio.

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**Anyone pick up on the "Get'cha head in the game" line? And the "Now or Never" one? I couldn't help myself!! Haha**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! I know it has been forever since I updated! Really sorry, but you know how life is! Very busy!**

**Anyway, this chapter is a bit of a filler until some bigger things come up next chapter. I hope you enjoy though, and please review!!**

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Troy rang the doorbell to Gabriella's house on Sunday morning. The pair had decided to get together and just hang out. They also had to look over some costumes and Troy wanted to see Gabriella's old dance photos and videos.

The two of them sat on the couch, with a large scrapbook on their laps. It was a scrapbook containing the photos of every dance Gabriella had ever done.

"Naw, you look so cute." Troy laughed at picture of four year old Gabriella, in her very first costume. She was grinning proudly at the camera, her curly hair in pig tails.

Gabriella smiled. "Ah, yes. The Mickey Mouse March." She laughed.

Troy flipped the page and he smiled. "Is this your first ballet dance?" he asked.

Gabi nodded. "Uh huh. I loved that dress. I felt like a princess." She smiled fondly at the picture. She wore a purple tutu with a silver tiara atop her head and her ballet shoes with ribbons criss-crossed around her ankles.

Troy kept flipping through the book, pausing to look and smile at each routine's picture.

"So this one is your first pointe dance?" he asked. The Gabriella in the picture looked about thirteen. She wore a large white tutu with her pointe shoes, her hair pulled back into a sleek bun.

"Yeah, it was . . ." Gabriella was cut off by a loud slamming of the door. Angry voices filled the room, those of her mother and father.

"You're always at that wretched office!" Maria screamed. "And don't think that I don't know what you do there, because I do!"

"What, earn the money? Pay for this house and Gabriella's dancing? Because that is what I do! I don't see you helping out!" Max roared back.

"Oh, don't put that on me! You were the one who didn't want me to get a job!"

Gabriella jumped up, unable to stand the screaming match any longer. She hurried out into the hallway. Her parents stood mere metres away from each other, arms folded and eyes shooting daggers.

"Guys!" Gabriella said in outrage. "I have Troy over!"

Her mother's eyes darted towards her in shock. "Oh, sorry darling. I'll go and make some lunch for you guys." She hastily walked to the kitchen.

"Maria! I'm not finished!" Max yelled, following her out of the room.

"Well I am!" she yelled back. "Go back to your precious office Max, and leave me alone!"

Gabriella's father stood there for a moment, glaring at his wife. Then he turned suddenly on his heel and walked outside, slamming the door. The sound of his car roaring away could be heard from inside the house.

Gabriella closed her eyes and sighed, taking a minute to compose herself. When she was alright, she went back into the longue room.

"Sorry about that." She said with a forced smile.

"That's okay. I know families are." Troy smiled. "Do you want me to go?"

"No! Please stay." She said quickly.

"Okay." Troy agreed.

Gabriella put the DVD of her latest dance concert into the player and pressed play. The two of them settled back to watch the dances. Gabriella sighed, hoping her parents would sort things out.

Troy noticed her mood, so he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Gabriella smiled at him thankfully.

* * *

The next morning was tense in the Montez household. Gabriella's father hadn't gotten home until very late which had only resulted in making Maria angrier.

Gabriella entered the kitchen to find her parents sitting on opposite ends of the table with sullen looks on their face and not speaking to each other. She gathered up her things and quickly ate her breakfast. She said goodbye to her parents before she left, but they just nodded at her.

She sighed as she reached outside. The warm air washed over, making her feel relaxed.

The sound of a car horn made her open her eyes.

"Gabi! Come on, get it!" Sharpay called from the car.

Gabriella hurried to the Evans' car, ready to go to school and push all of her family problems aside.

In English, Gabriella mind started to wander. Her parents had fought before, but never like that. They seemed to be fighting more often of late as well, which worried Gabriella. She knew her Mum didn't like it when her dad worked too late, and her father hated her mother's tendency to shop.

Gabriella remembered her parents talking once, back when she was about nine. Her mother had wanted to go back to work, but her dad thought she should stay to take care of Gabi and the house. They had a fight over, the first fight Gabriella could ever remember them having. They didn't talk about Maria going back to work after that. Gabriella hadn't even been aware that it had become an issue again.

She also knew her mother wasn't happy, ands that's why she shopped so frequently. Gabi was older now and didn't need taking care of as much. So Maria took her anger out on her credit cards. The ones her husband paid for.

"Hey." Troy nudged her, bringing her back to the present. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay." She assured him. She looked to the front and concentrated on her work for the rest of the lesson.

* * *

That afternoon, Gabriella headed to the studio early. Things weren't any better at home. Her mother remained silent and her father hadn't returned from work. So Gabi decided to do what she always did; take out all her emotions on her dance.

She arrived there before anyone else, but she had a key to get in. She let herself in and put her shoes, starting to slowly warm up. Stretching was like a form of therapy for her. It was just her concentrating on her muscles and getting ready to dance.

After she had finished, she put on a song and started to dance. Last night, she hadn't been able to stand the quietness in her house, so she retreated to the basement where she often practiced her dances. She had choreographed herself a new dance, as she did so often. It was this song that she now played.

Broken by Lifehouse filtered through the speakers and filled the studio. Gabriella loved the song, and found it easy to connect to at times.

_I'm falling apart_

_I'm barely breathing_

_With a broken heart_

_That's still beating_

_In the pain_

_There is healing_

_In your name_

_I found meaning_

She poured all of her hurt and frustration from her parents into the dance. She filled all the music, her movements flowing gracefully into each other. Each move was executed perfectly, and the emotion displayed would have earned her first place at a competition.

The song finished, and Gabriella stood there panting, her chest constricting from the energy of what she had just done. A shadow moved from the side of the room and she gasped, wondering what it was.

Troy stepped forward and she realised he must have been there for nearly the whole dance. She cheeks coloured as she realised he had seen everything. But Troy didn't seem to mind. He smiled at her and clapped softly.

"That was really beautiful. Really." He said.

"Thanks." She mumbled.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed. It's really awesome you can choreograph like that."

She smiled, a little easier this time. However, she wanted to move onto something else.

"So, we should finish working on the dance. The competition's this weekend."

"Yep." Troy agreed.

The two of them changed the song, and started to rehearse their dance. They had improved dramatically since they had become partners. The level of trust between them was clearly visible. Gabriella trusted that Troy would not drop her to the ground in one of their lifts.

The dance had turned out well. The choreography was great, the costumes suited the dance well and Troy and Gabriella were both happy with what they had achieved over the few weeks they had been partners for.

The two of them smiled at each other. Troy glanced up at the clock and realised that the next class was scheduled to start in fifteen minutes. It was the Open Senior Tap Grade which Troy didn't take. He smiled at Gabi.

"Anyway, I'd better go work on my homework in my break." He laughed. "As much as I don't want to, the threat is I have to quit dancing if my grades ever drop."

Gabriella laughed with him. "I've had that rule in place since third grade." She told him.

"Anyway, I'll see you in the next class." Troy grabbed his bag with his books and shoes in it and exited the studio.

Gabriella smiled at his retreating back and went to her locker to change into her tap shoes.

* * *

As soon as Gabriella climbed in the car after dancing that night she knew things weren't any better between her parents. Her father picked her up, as he always did, but he didn't ask any questions. The car ride home was silent, and Robert's face remained in the same stony expression the whole way.

When they arrived home, Robert got out of the car and slammed the door. He walked into the house, leaving Gabi outside. She stood there for a moment before following him inside.

Her mother was in the kitchen. "Hi darling. Your dinner's in the microwave." She said, before disappearing to the longue room.

Gabriella quickly ate her dinner. She sensed another fight coming on, and she didn't want to be too close when it happened.

Just as she was going up the stairs, she heard them screaming.

"I'm sick of always being second best to your work!"

"And I'm sick of you being so clingy!"

She ran up the stairs faster, slamming her door shut and blasting her music to drown out their fight.

But twenty minutes later, they hadn't quietened down. Gabriella didn't know what to do. So she grabbed her phone and stepped out onto her balcony.

Sitting down on a chair, she scrolled through her numbers and pressed 'call', waiting as it rang.

"_Hello?"_

"Hey Troy."

"_Hey Gabi. What's up?"_

"Oh nothing, I was just thinking about the competition on the weekend, and thought we should go over a few things again."

Troy could sense in her voice that something was wrong, but she obviously didn't want to talk about it. _"Okay, sure."_ He said. _"Go ahead."_

They talked until it was late and Gabi's parents had finally stopped fighting. But she didn't notice the silence of her house because she was so busy talking to Troy.


	5. Author's Note

Hey guys! I know I haven't updated this story in forever! I am so very sorry to anyone who actually wants to keep reading this. I am planning to keep writing this but I've been so busy with school and my own dancing. Life just goes so fast I reckon.

So, I was reading this story just the other day because I want to keep going, but I noticed a few mistakes and a few things I would like to change. I'm going to do this before I add new chapters. They won't be major changes, just little things and editing issues I found. Once I've done that I will start adding more chapters again. I'll replace this note with the new chapter. This should happen in the next few weeks.

If you want to keep reading this, thank you so much, it really does mean a lot to me


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